- Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel made an announcement in this regard
- Necessary instructions issued to district collectors for implementation of the scheme
- Applicants can apply for the unemployment allowance only through the web portal
Raipur (thestates.news) | Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel has announced to provide an unemployment allowance of Rs 2500 per month to all educated unemployed youth of the state, starting from April 1 this year. An order has been issued in this regard by the Skill Development, Technical Education, and Employment Department approving the scheme. While necessary instructions have been given to the district collectors for the implementation of the scheme.
Principal Secretary (Skill Development, Technical Education, and Employment) Dr. Alok Shukla said that under this scheme, applicants can only apply for the unemployment allowance through the web portal, as per the prescribed criteria and conditions. The web portal is being developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and will soon be inaugurated by Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel. The portal will be available to the general public from April 1.
Clusters to be created for physical verification of applicants
The physical verification of the applications under the scheme will be done by calling the applicants in person. For this purpose, clusters will be created in the wards of villages and cities, and a verification team will be formed for each cluster. Following the physical verification, the unemployment allowance will be approved by the Chief Executive Officers/Commissioners of the Janpad Panchayats and Municipal Corporations. The payment of the unemployment allowance will be made through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into the bank accounts of the applicants.
Eligibility Criteria
To receive unemployment benefits, the applicant must meet the specified criteria and conditions. The applicant must be a resident of Chhattisgarh and between the ages of 18-35, having a minimum qualification of higher secondary education (12th grade) from a recognized board. The applicant must be registered with the District Employment and Self-Employment Guidance Center and their registration for employment should be at least two years old as of April 1 this year. The applicant should not have any source of income and their family’s annual income must not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh. The family refers to the applicant’s spouse, dependent children, and dependent parents.
Initially, eligible educated youth will be entitled to unemployment benefits for a period of one year. If the person is not able to secure gainful employment during this period, the duration of the unemployment allowance can be extended for another year. This period will not exceed more than two years in any case.
Only one person from a family will be eligible for the unemployment allowance. If the unemployment benefit of one person from a family is approved that the other will be ineligible. If any member of the applicant’s family is employed in any position other than the fourth category or Group D in any institution or local body of the Central or State Government, then the applicant will be ineligible for the unemployment allowance. Besides, if the applicant is offered self-employment or a job in the government or private sector, but they refuse the offer, then they will also be ineligible for the unemployment allowance.
The family members of former and current ministers, parliament or state legislative assembly members, former or current mayors of municipal corporations, and former or current chairpersons of zila panchayats will not be eligible for unemployment benefits. The family members of pensioners who receive a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 or more will also be ineligible for unemployment benefits. Families who have paid income tax in the previous assessment year will also be ineligible for unemployment benefits. The family members of other professionals such as engineers, doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants, and architects registered with professional bodies, will also be ineligible for unemployment benefits.
The amount of the unemployment allowance will be transferred directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries every month. The beneficiaries will also be offered skill development training and assistance in seeking employment post-training. Unemployment benefits will be stopped if an individual refuses to participate in the skill development training or declines a job offer.
